


Hide and Seek and Truth Bubbles

by bekochan



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Hide and Seek, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Just really a sweet family moment, M/M, Malec, Pranks and Practical Jokes, The odd things that come out of a child's mind, Truth Bubbles, warlock games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 19:28:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9781886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bekochan/pseuds/bekochan
Summary: Magnus comes home to an unexpected scene.A child can be quite mischievous.The characters are owned by the TV show and the author of The Mortal Instruments.





	

**Author's Note:**

> A cute domestic moment that came from a very weird dream I had. Spoilers kind of but Madzie is in the tags so if you don't know her she's from the show. As soon as I saw her I wanted Magnus and Alec to adopt her because they would love to have a little girl as well as their canon sons.

Magnus smiled to himself as he accepted the jar holding a bobbing mote of Fae light. The Seelie shook their head at him still confused.

“Are you sure that’s all the payment you’ll accept? I was told you prefer more… exotic items.”

“I’m quite sure,” Magnus said, turning his head to the Seelie. “This is exactly what I was after.”

“Very well.” The Seelie gave him one more suspicious glance and then walked away quickly.

Magnus chuckled to himself when they had disappeared into the forest. It wasn’t exactly a job worth his time, a small issue that most warlocks could have handled. However, this Seelie happened to create the exact shade of Fae light he was looking for. Holding the jar to his chest he opened a portal and walked through.

He stepped in with a splash and waded into chaos. 

He blinked his eyes a couple times and checked his bearings to make sure he ended up in the right place. The view of the Brooklyn bridge through the window told him that he was indeed in his home. Except now the floor was submerged under about two feet of water that was littered with floating toys and other objects from around his home including priceless books. He gasped in horror and quickly flicked a wrist to remove the water and repair any damage. 

“What is going on here? Alexander? Are you here?” he called out to the room, placing the jar of Fae light onto a small table. He wandered through the apartment but no one was to be found. He walked past the bathroom and stopped in his tracks. Quirking a confused eyebrow he stepped back and looked into the bathroom. The clawfoot tub was filled to the brim with toys. Brightly colored plastic toys that would float on water. More than he knew they had. 

“Madzie?” Magnus said with a small smirk.

The pile of toys giggled.

Magnus smiled and said dramatically, “Oh well, I guess no one’s here.” He flicked a couple fingers and his steps sounded like they were walking out the door as he made his way to the tub.

The pile giggled again.

Magnus lifted a hand and purple smoke lifted the toys from the tub to reveal a bright eyed warlock child, a giant grin on her face and a pearlescent red and orange mermaid tail for her legs.

“Madzie!” Magnus exclaimed. 

“Ayah!” she said excitedly, flopping her tail.

“I like the new look, sweetheart, but where did all these toys come from and where on earth is your father?” 

She clasped her hands to her face to hide a mischievous smile. 

“What store, Madzie?” Magnus said with a stern look, trying his hardest to keep the twinkle out of his eyes. 

“The one Papi took me to last week. The blue place,” she said through her fingers. She lolled her head back to look up at him with a big grin and her gills wiggled with delight. 

He snapped his fingers and the majority of the toys disappeared, making sure to keep the ones he knew were her favorites. The rest ended up in the toy bin at the area orphanage, as well as some cash in an envelope in the mailbox of the toy store with a note of apology. 

“Now, that’s dealt with.” He held out a hand to the little girl and she latched on, changing her fin to legs as she stood up. He grabbed her green robe from the door and wrapped her in it. Picking her up he said, “Are you going to tell me where your Papi is, or does your Ayah have to find him himself?”

Madzie pushed her face into Magnus’ shoulder stifling a laugh. 

“Ah. Hide and Seek it is,” he said lifting the frog faced hood over Madzie’s wet curls. He would dry them for her but he knew she could do it herself so she apparently wanted to keep it that way. He raised the temperature in the apartment a couple degrees so she wouldn’t catch cold. 

“Okay, where should I start? Do I get any clues?” He felt her shake her head no against his shoulder where she still hid her face. He shook his head with a smile and said, “Alright, let’s start in your bedroom, little one.” She giggled which told him it was the wrong answer but he played along.

He walked into her room and gazed around at the organized mess. Countless frog eyes looked back at them. From the bright green swampy mural Clary had painted on the walls, to the pile of every kind of stuffed frog imaginable on her bed. He glanced over at the photos on the wall and shuddered at the one showing a cake. It was beautifully decorated with little brightly colored tree frogs climbing up the sides. Too bad Izzy made it and it tasted like it was made in a swamp. Madzie had been delighted and ate up her slice happily to everyone’s horror. Everyone but Izzy who had beamed for a week. 

The floor was littered with random pieces from her superhero costumes that Jace and Simon kept bringing her after she’d tell them about her favorite characters from Max’s comic books. Magnus smiled when he remembered watching them the other day; Uncle Max hovering over her making sure she didn’t damage them, mouthing the words from memory as she read them aloud.  
“Well, doesn’t look like he’s in here.”

“Nope!” Madzie said with grin. She looked up at Magnus, her curls being pushed over her eyes from the frog hood. “Gotta try harder!”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Oh really? You must have hid him very well then.”

She nodded emphatically.

“He’s not in any danger is he?” Magnus asked. 

She turned her head and looked up at the ceiling thinking about her answer.

“Nope, he’s fine.” She smiled again.

Magnus felt a small pang of worry but he knew Madzie would never hurt Alec. Afterall he was the one who had rescued her from that woman. He clenched his jaw at the thought of the warlock who had used her power to hurt mundanes in her ‘for the greater good’ scheme. She had escaped into a realm far enough away that he felt confident she could not cause them harm. The second he felt her magic get anywhere near he knew he would end her. 

“Ayah? It’s okay, Papi isn’t hurt, I’ll tell you where he is. I’m sorry...I wouldn’t hurt him...” Magnus pulled himself back to the present and realized she sensed his tension. He placed a hand on her back. 

“I know you wouldn’t, my little tadpole, and I’m not angry at you.” He rubbed her back gently. “I was thinking about something else. We can still play the game if you’d like.”

She looked at him warily for a moment and then nodded her head. 

“Okay, where should I go next? Mine and Papi’s room? The kitchen? The living room?” He asked with a hand to his chin. 

She shrugged and held back a small smile. 

“Hmmmm… Guess I’ll have to try everywhere.” He tugged at the top of her hood a little and she giggled. 

He turned away from her room when a glob of lime green goo floated down in front of his face. Magnus stopped in his tracks and blinked at the blob, just sitting in the air. 

It blinked back. 

Magnus shook his head and rubbed both his eyes with his free hand and looked up again. There it was. A floating glob of green… something… undulating in the air… with two large cartoonish eyes. It blinked twice.

“What the…” Magnus said reaching out to it. Magnus felt a tiny hint of familiarity but he couldn’t quite recall where and what from. Madzie giggled. “Madzie, what is this thing?” She giggled again. As Magnus’ fingers got close, the glob blinked, looked to the left in confusion then popped into nothing. Magnus pulled his hand back and looked at the tiny bit of green residue left on a finger tip. He rubbed his finger tips together and it was indeed as slimy as he thought. 

“It’s a Truth bubble,” Madzie said with a sharp nod. 

“A…. what?” Magnus looked at her with what he knew was the most confused expression he had ever made in his long life. 

“A Truth bubble,” she said again, with a shrug of one shoulder. 

As if that was the most obvious answer in the world.

“O... K… “ Magnus shifted Madzie’s weight up further on his hip, just to do something that made sense for a second. “Are you going to tell me what a truth bubble is?”

“Not a truth bubble, Ayah. A capital-T Truth bubble.” She tapped a finger on his shoulder while emphasizing the consonant. 

“Oh, of course, how silly of me, I didn’t hear the capital before. Now what is a capital-T Truth bubble?”

“Papi knows.” Madzie tilted her head again, looking up in thought before giggling again.

“Well I guess I better find him soon, then,” Magnus said watching her nod in agreement. He walked down the hall and decided to take a quick peek in his bedroom as they went by. He opened the door and glanced around. It looked the way he had left it in the morning. Save for Alec’s jacket laying on the chair in the corner. He walked over and reached out a hand before Madzie tugged at his waistcoat. 

“No magic, Ayah. You have to find him fair and square.”

“My dear button, I believe it would be fair as I’m quite certain that you used your magic to hide him. Am I wrong?”

“Oh,” she said forlornly. She thought about it for a minute and then shrugged. “Okay, you can use magic.”

Magnus looked down and saw kryptonite. Her little pout got him every time. And she knew it. 

“Fine, if you think I can find him without magic then I’ll do it.” He bopped her on the nose gently with a fingertip. She laughed and grabbed his hand in hers. Looking around the room once more and seeing nothing amiss he decided to check elsewhere. 

He checked in the formal dining room and then the library and then into the kitchen to find no clues where Alec was hiding. 

Madzie played with the rings on Magnus’ fingers as they returned to the hallway. She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. 

“Am I taking too long for you?” She shrugged and continued playing with the rings. Magnus shook his head and chuckled softly. “Don’t worry, I’ll find him soon.”

They were greeted by another floating green glob. Madzie lifted her head and giggled. She reached over with a finger to pop it, it’s eyes growing large and round in shock before blinking out of existence. Magnus felt a bit bad for the critter. 

They entered the living room and Madzie shoved her fists over her mouth to hide a smile. Ah, thought Magnus, here we are. But he was confused, he came into the living room when he arrived there was nothing but water. He hadn’t seen a sign of Alec. He wandered around the edge of the room and checked each of the nooks.

“Well, he’s not any place obvious for me so I need to look in the non-obvious places, right?” Magnus set Madzie down on her favorite chair. It was big and squishy and she cuddled right into it. 

“Correct,” she said with authority. He nodded back to her. 

“Okay. non-obvious… Oh, I know. Is he under the couch?” Magnus got down on all fours and made a big show of looking into the two inch gap at the bottom. 

“No!” Madzie giggled at him. “He couldn’t fit down there!”

“Well how do I know you didn’t shrink him?” Magnus asked with a smile when he sat back on his heels. Her eyes growing wide. Uh oh, Magnus thought, I think I just gave her an idea for next time. May need to nip that one in the bud at some point. He’d let it slide for now, though. He was beginning to be worried. 

“Don’t worry, he’s the same size.” She gave a grin to Magnus that told him the “talk” about not shrinking her parents for her own amusement may happen tomorrow. 

“Well, my little Madpole, you and Alec have me quite stumped. You two found a really good hiding spot.” He placed his hand to his chest with a flourish and said, “I am defeated.”

Madzie laughed and kicked her legs against the seat of the chair, her legs not quite long enough to bend at the knees over the edge. 

“Papi didn’t pick it.” She leaned over, put a hand to the side of her mouth and whispered, “He doesn’t know.”

“He doesn’t know? He doesn’t know where he is?” Magnus asked his brows furrowing. She shook her head.

“Nope. And he doesn’t know he’s hiding.”

“Now what on earth does tha....” Magnus was interrupted by five floating globs appearing around his head. All of them took a single glance at him and then looked over at the little Warlock. She giggled and clapped her hands. They blinked at her.

“Madzie, where are these coming from?” Magnus asked, exasperated. This game is getting old, he thought, and weird.

She took a moment to think and then pointed a finger to the ceiling. Magnus looked up and saw hundreds, maybe more, of the green globs floating near the ceiling. They looked like seafoam or algae floating on the surface of the ocean. He saw they were spread to the entirety of the living room ceiling but there was a large concentration right above the couch. 

Waving a hand covered in blue smoke, Magnus moved the bubbles away from the area and saw Alec, curled up and asleep as if he were still on the couch. 

“You found him!” Madzie cried happily.

“So it seems.” Magnus wasn’t sure how to feel. He was proud of her control of her abilities, but also didn’t think it was a good idea to condone such use. “Let’s get him back on the couch, okay?” 

She seemed to have caught the tone change in his voice and nodded in agreement. She lifted her hands and shot out red and gold magic that engulfed Alec and led him slowly back down to the couch. Magnus, still on his knees, turned to Alec and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. Alec gently stirred and open his eyes.

“Hey, Magnus, you’re home,” Alec said with a sleep edged voice and smiled. “How was your day?” He reached over and put a hand on the back of Magnus’s neck, pulling him in for a soft kiss. Madzie groaned in disgust. They laughed.

“I’m more interested in your day, my dear.” Magnus said pointing to the ceiling. Alec looked up and blinked a couple times. 

“Wha…?”

“Capital-T Truth bubbles,” Magnus replied. 

“Wha…?” Alec said again, his eyes roving the ceiling as many eyes blinked back.

“Our dear little Madzie informed me that you would know what they are.”

“I do?” Alec looked over at their daughter who was smiling and nodding. 

“Also, I’m extremely curious as to why the apartment was flooded with two feet of water when I came back.”

“Wha…?” Alec shook his head. “I have no idea what is happening right now.” They both looked at Madzie with their best ‘explain yourself’ looks.

“Papi, you know about the Truth bubbles because you know about the Lie bubbles,” she said crossing her arms in disappointment. He leaned his head back and rolled his eyes, knowing she couldn’t see him doing it.

“Lie bubbles?” Magnus asked him with a quirk of his mouth.

“Yes. Lie bubbles. Earlier when I was getting the bath ready for Madz she said she wanted a bubble bath. So I prepared it and she became very upset. She said the tub was full of Lie bubbles.”

“That’s because the bubbles were lies,” Madzie said, her face screwed up in a scowl. 

“How on earth were they lies?” Magnus asked.

“They weren’t like they are on TV,” she cried.

“TV?”

“Yeah, apparently Simon and Jace have been exposing her to Saturday morning cartoons and there’s always this commercial for bubble bath soap with these…” Alec looked back up to the ceiling. “These cartoon bubbles that have big eyes that look just like those. I let her look up pictures on my phone.”

“Well that explains the bubbles.” And the familiarity, Magnus thought. “Now what I want to know is why the water and why hide Alec?”

Madzie leaned back in the chair and pulled her hood further over her face.

“Oh no, you’re not getting out of this one.” Magnus got up and stood in front of her chair. He felt Alec standing behind him. She glanced up at them and saw them both had their arms crossed and stern faces. She sighed. 

“I was bored.” Her voice was almost too quiet to hear, but they both caught it. 

“Explain.” They said in unison. Magnus looked back at Alec and they shared a smirk. 

“I couldn’t sleep and Papi was sleeping on the couch. I was bored but I didn’t want to wake you because Ayah said you had a long night at work. So I made the bubbles to play with but they got boring too. So I decided I wanted to be a mermaid and swim around but there wasn’t enough room in the tub so I wanted more water. But I didn’t want you to drown so I gave the bubbles the task of holding you up without waking you up so I could have room to swim. Then I saw your portal appear, Ayah, so I went and hid.” She barely took a breath through her explanation. 

Magnus blinked a few times at the odd story he was just presented with. She looked down at her hands as she fiddled with the belt of her robe. 

“I’m sorry,” she said in a small voice. Magnus turned to Alec and exchanged a look of disbelief then a smile at the absurdity.

“Madzie,” Alec finally said, sitting on the arm of the chair. “You can always wake me, no matter what. In fact, please wake me. I’d rather be tired and playing with you than finding out you could have hurt yourself while I was sleeping.”

“That’s the same for me too, oh, Great Conjurer of the Truth.” Magnus sat on the other arm of the chair, placing a hand on her hooded head. She looked up at both of them and smiled.

“Okay.”  
“Now, you have a mess to clean up right now before going back to bed.” Magnus pointed up to the ceiling. She nodded and made all of them pop at once with a wave of a hand. 

“Tomorrow we’ll have some long talks about a lot of things. But for now it’s bed time for everyone.”

“I dunno, I’m feeling pretty rested,” Alec said with a shrug and a grin. “Madzie makes one heck of a soap bubble mattress.” She beamed with pride. Magnus smirked at the both of them. 

“Well, you can do whatever you want, then. I’m going to put Madzie to bed and then I’m going to sleep. Today turned out to be much more odd than I’ve seen before, and I was there when the emperor wore his new clothes!” Alec tilted his head at Magnus and rolled his eyes. Magnus winked at him. 

“Ayah, that’s not a real thing,” Madzie said matter-of-factly.

“It isn’t? Oh well, I must be getting things mixed up. Now go get your pajamas on and we’ll be there in a second.”

“Okay.” She jumped down from the chair and hopped to her room. Alec ruffling her head as she went by.

Magnus chuckled. Alec got up and pulled Magnus to him, kissing him deeply. Magnus smiled and wrapped his arms around Alec’s waist. Alec pulled away first and looked at Magnus with a smirk. Magnus quirked his eyebrows in response, glancing back down at Alec’s lips.

“I’mmm readyyyyy!” Madzie called from her room. Alec chuckled as they stood apart. Magnus reached up and wiped a smear of lipstick off of Alec’s mouth. Alec smiled and pulled the hand back to plant a kiss on the palm. 

“Oh,” Alec said suddenly remembering. “Did you get it?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact I did.” Magnus retrieved the jar from the small table to show him. 

“It’s perfect! She’s going to love it.” He watched as gold bands swirled around a floating red orb. The soft glow it emitted felt warm as he reached a hand to it. 

“Yes, and then maybe she’ll actually sleep through the night for once,” Magnus said with a sigh, thinking of the countless night lights that they had gone through to no avail. 

“Oh, I’m sure this will work,” Alec said with a smile. “If not, maybe she could make herself a bed from those bubbles. My neck doesn’t hurt like it does when I sleep on the couch.” Magnus rolled his eyes at Alec and headed for Madzie’s room. Alec laughed and followed.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! For the readers of my other fic, don't worry I'm working on it too. I just had to get this one out of my system first. 
> 
> You know the drill, comments and kudos are highly appreciated!
> 
> <3 ya!!


End file.
